Pumpkin Ales and Winter Lagers: Best Beers for Right Now

Whether you're coming in from raking leaves or picking apples at your local farm, it's nice to have a good beer in your fridge to look forward to! This time of year, we want beers that are complex, play with rich flavors, and warm us up. Here are some of our favorites for sipping slowly and savoring from start to finish:

1. Punkin Ale from Dogfish Head Brewery - If you'd like a pumpkin beer that truly tastes like pumpkin pie, this is the one for you!

2. Winter Lager from Sam Adams - We look forward to this one every year and just spotted it in the store! It's lighter and less spice-heavy than many other winter lagers, which we count as a positive.

3. Milk Stout from Left Hand Brewing Company - As it warms to room temperature, this beer opens up to a rich, creamy espresso flavor. This is an excellent sipping beer for a long afternoon.

4. Gorges Smoked Porter from Ithaca Brewing Company - We had this at a recent beer dinner and loved this beer's lingering smoky flavor. It would be great with a late-summer barbecue.

5. Nut Brown Ale from Samuel Smith - This is like dessert in a bottle! It's smooth and buttery with the rich flavors of nut and caramel. Yum.

Emma is the recipe editor for The Kitchn and a graduate of the Cambridge School for Culinary Arts. She is the author of True Brews and Brew Better Beer (Spring 2015). Check out her personal blog for more cooking stories.